Electronic Arts announced that it will take part in Pride Parades in both Seattle and San Francisco to celebrate global diversity and the LGBT community during the month of June. They have also declared June 'LGBT Pride Month' at the company, though how they will celebrate it beyond joining in on the marches remains to be seen. The company, which has taken its fair share or criticism from family groups for promoting gay and lesbian characters in games such as Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, seems to be embracing the idea of global diversity and inclusion.

The Pride Parades take place in Seattle and San Francisco on June 24. If you'd like to get involved you can go to this event page (The password is "pride2012"). EA's announcement can be read below, in its entirety:

" As many of our fans know, EA believes that fostering an inclusive culture helps us not only create the best games, but also represent our diverse customer base. That's why we’re excited to announce that June will be LGBT Pride Month at EA. Join us this month as we celebrate our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender colleagues, consumers, friends, and families.

EA will also be walking for global equality on June 24th at the Pride Parades in both Seattle and San Francisco. For our Seattle fans, our PopCap team will have fun surprises for the crowd.

If you’re in the Bay Area, we also have a special opportunity for you to walk in the parade with EA! Visit our Pride Walk event page and RSVP for a chance to show off your EA spirit and LGBT pride. For more information and to RSVP, click here. The password is "pride2012."

They celebrate because others tell them to be ashamed of what they are. This is to remind them that they have a right to not be ashamed, to be proud, of themselves, of their sexuality, of who they are.

I agree that there would be no need to celebrate their sexual orientation, if they were treated equally to heterosexuals. If they had the right to marry the person they love, the right to not be fired just for their sexual orientation or gender identity, etc. If that was the world/country we lived in, then I would agree that these Pride Parades and Pride events would no longer be needed. Unfortunately, that is not the world, or country we live in today.

You cna only blame BioWare for what they put in their games. They originally had gay and lesbian character romances in ME1, but BioWare had it cut. When they went to EA for ME2, BioWare again chose a poorer path.

And now with ME3, they allow gay characters only for them to get killed off. Not EA's fault, it falls on BioWare.